Yeasty Mosaic at Disney's California Adventure

Monday, January 31, 2011

According to Whirl Magazine, there's one way you can make a really big splash in your home without taking out a loan: paint one wall in a room a bright, vivid color. The magazine suggests using colors like chartreuse, sweet potato and fruit punch to make a statement.

If you don't like the color, you can always repaint. Which is true -- and what designers always tell us -- but maybe not as easy to do as they suggest. Instead, why not buy a large accessory piece in one of these funky colors and place that in the room as a simple test. If you hate the color after awhile, be very glad you hadn't gotten the paint brushes out. If you love the color and want to see more, you will know what to plan for your next weekend at home.

Color is wonderful but so many of us are afraid of it, often with good reason. It's quite a weapon in the world of home decorating. But taking baby steps may help make the transition much smoother.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Today may win the contest for Most Dreary Day of the Winter Yet. It's cold and foggy and icy and Pure D ugly. The kind of day where you can go through half a bottle of windshield washer on your way to work dealing with muddy spray. A day where it's hard to picture green grass and blue sky.

What to do? I say we have to find something that reminds us of more beautiful days ahead and put that something in a place we see often. Whether it's a seed catalog for spring plants, a pair of lime green shorts or your golf clubs, put it where you will see it everyday.

You can also let your creativity take you a step further. Buy some blooming spring plants to place in your kitchen. Borrow some golf videos at the library to watch. Help yourself out here.

Spring will come. We just need to be our best creative selves till then!

Monday, January 24, 2011

I was listening to a free podcast the other day on how to use a light meter in photography. Since I have a nice light meter and never use it, I was interested in learning more.

The promised "live" feed by a photographer had been recorded this time, according to the girl who models for him, because he was down Mexico way on location.

My first thought was: Wow. I wish I was in another country taking photos. I'm sure I would come home with the most wonderful, creative shots I have ever taken. I thought, you see, that it was easy to be creative when you are in a place as lush as Mexico -- or actually, any place that wasn't home.

But then common sense prevalied. I didn't need to be away to take good photos. I just needed to grab my camera and go out and shoot something (with a camera, of course) which I have not been doing.

A photographer doesn't need to be on location to find good photos. They surround us every day.

For inspiration, check out a library book of photos taken by Andre Kertesz, the father of 35mm photography as he is known. Kertesz spent years shooting still lifes from the windows of his apartment in New York when he no longer wanted to venture out into the city. The photos are inspiring, not only because they are beautiful in their simplicity, but because this photographer found beauty in objects sitting around his home, just waiting to be recognzied as art.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

One of my most favorite creative tips for dressing is accessories. No matter if you are wearing a black dress or a dress shirt and jeans, accessories can add pizzazz to any outfit.

My favorite accessory is a large square silk scarf because it can be worn so many different ways. For instance you can:

Wrap it around your neck a couple of times, just as you would a regular scarf and wear underneath a coat or jacket.

Wrap around your arms and use as a shawl when you are wearing a sleeveless dress.

Wrap loosely around your neck and create a piece of statement neckwear, as shown above. This is my favorite way to wear a square scarf.

As you can see with the square scarf, and with scarves in general, there are endless possibilities and ways to wear them. It’s up to your creativity to find ways to wear them that represent your personal style. Remember, personal style is all about creativity!

Sarah is the creator of and the fashion diva behind Looking Sharp! and Clutch, a fashion blog she writes for the Pittsbugh Post-Gazette.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Saw these silver pillow-sized "clouds" at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. They are constantly moving around under the power of a couple of fans. Very cool.

We live in Pittsburgh, but had not been to the museum to see any exhibits, which I regretted as soon as I walked in the place.

Amazingly, there was a long line of people waiting to enter the museum this past Sunday, which delighted me because it wasn't a line for a sporting event, which is what this town is known for. Nope, it was a line to get into a musuem.

I hope you can find some time this winter to seek out a museum you haven't visited. It's good for the soul and a lot of fun too. I'm hoping there will be silver clouds there for you to play with.

Friday, January 14, 2011

In the dead of winter, it's good to have something bright and colorful to enjoy as a reminder that spring will come again. It's fun -- and healthy -- to surround yourself with beautiful things that remind you of sunnier days. Things like lush houseplants or bright red coffee mugs.

On my coffee table I have a basket filled with stuffed birds that "sing" their appropriate song when you squeeze them. When the wintering birds avoid my birdfeeders as they try to stay warm in their roosts, I can squeeze one of the stuffed birds and hear the songs I will hear again soon.

Find some things that remind you of spring and place them where you will see them every day. Think bright! Colorful! Spring!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

With more than 6 inches of snow outside my door in Western Pennsylvania, it's hard to force myself to go out for the walk which I have been trying to do every day.

But for us creative types, this is only a small setback as we figure out how to get exercise even in the worst of conditions.

For today, my choices might include shoveling the driveway (again!); sweeping off the front steps (again, again); walking inside my house, up and down the steps; using my bike to rack up some miles so I can pretend I am in a national forest somewhere; using the hand weights or bands I recently rediscovered in an end table or pulling out my Yoga in 28 Days book I have used since college.

That's a good start. How about you? What creative options do you have for getting some exercise in today?

Monday, January 10, 2011

In her book, The Creative Habit, Twyla Tharp writes: Creativity is not just for artists. It's for buisinesspeople looking for a new way to close a sale; it's for engineers trying to solve a problem; it's for parents who want their children to see the world in more than one way.

That's what Yeasty is all about. Creativity is a part of everyone's life -- your life, and it's something we should celebrate, no matter how small the act.

Today, take out your journal and write down the last creative decision you made. Was it choosing an outfit for work this morning or saying the heck with it and reaching for a different mug for your cup of joe? Write it down along with a couple of thoughts about how you felt while you were making the decision. Did your choice make you happy? Were you too stressed to enjoy the actual moment?

Tomorrow, ask yourself: How can I add to that moment? What else is there in my daily routine that I can shake up a little? Have a little more fun with?

Friday, January 7, 2011

If you haven't already taken them down, leave your holiday wreath and greens up for a while longer outside your home. The winter landscape can be so dull and a spot of color from a berry-trimmed wreath can perk things up a bit. I have it on good authority that it really isn't weird to have greens up outside till Valentine's Day. Promise.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

As we begin this creative journey together, I hope you will buy a journal of your choosing and use it every day. Please don't be intimidated by this. It doesn't mean you have to bare your soul each time you open it. No, it means that you have a place to jot down the ideas and thoughts that are of interest to you or need some type of creative solution. Writing them down helps, and you don't have to be a "writer" to do it.

(I try to write in a journal every day, but it doesn't often hapen. Daily life sometimes gets in the way of the journal, but I do it when I can. No pressure.)

When you are out shopping for a journal, pick up a package of colored pens. I had been using black pens to write with, and recently decided that this was not fun enough. So I bought pink, orange, green and blue pens, which reminded me of when I was in college and used a turquoise pen to write in a journal. A long time ago, but I still remember that.

I hope you will use your new rainbow pens constantly -- to draw things, to make "to do" lists, to write down a menu or whatever else your creative mind wants to hold onto.

Let's see -- we could use pink for Valentine's Day notes, green for gardening tips, blue for. . . but wait. You can decide all by yourself what the groovy pens will be used for.

Welcome to the brand new Yeasty blog for the Exuberantly Creative, which means you!

Too many people say they aren't creative, but I strongly disagree with that. EVERYONE is creative. Whether it's writing a novel or painting a picture or choosing yellow peppers over green for a stir-fry, we make creative decisons every day which add joy to our lives. We just need a litle encouragement to recognize them.

I think we should celebrate -- and share -- our own creativity and that's why I created Yeasty. As a writer, I am always in search of inspiration and new ideas. Now I know where to go and find some answers.